Exorcist Loyalty: “It’s a lie pure and simple”… This movie legend never wanted this sequel

50 years after William Friedkin’s iconic film, The Exorcist has a new sequel that hits theaters today.

The Exorcist – Devotion takes place in the present day in the United States. Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) is raising his daughter Angela (Lydia Jewett) alone. One day, Angela and her friend Catherine (Olivia O’Neill) disappear into the woods, only to reappear 72 hours later, with no memory of what happened to them… Since then, strange events have followed and Victor must face a terrible evil. forces. Desperate and terrified, she echoes the only person alive who has ever witnessed such events: Chris McNeill (Ellen Boorstyn). This is the first time the actor, now 90, has agreed to reprise the role.

Directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Jason Blum, The Exorcist – Devotion is slated to be the first installment in a new trilogy, like the Halloween franchise that the duo relaunched in 2018. If David Gordon Green had John Carpenter’s blessing for the Halloween trilogy, it wasn’t the same for The Exorcist.

The project was announced in December 2020, and very quickly, the late director William Friedkin announced that he was not involved.

“There’s a rumor on IMDB that I’m involved in a remake of The Exorcist. That’s not a rumor, that’s an outright lie. There’s not enough money or motivation in the world to make me do it.”

During our interview with the producer Jason BloomThe latter told us that he had the opportunity to discuss his trilogy with the director who died on August 7 at the age of 87.

“I had the opportunity for him. I knew him a little. As soon as the preparation of the film started, we contacted each other and informed about what we were doing. He didn’t want to be a part of it, I understand, but I kept him informed of the film’s progress and I’m sorry he’ll never get to see it.“

In turn, director David Gordon Green told the site IndieWire That he would love it if William Friedkin could voice his film.

He might not like my film, but his feedback would be a learning opportunity for me.

“I really wish he had seen my film. I understand that he didn’t want to participate, but he shared his thoughts with us after filming. I was very interested in what he would think. I know he was very critical and very honest, but he was a brilliant person.

He may not have liked my film but his feedback would be a learning opportunity for me as he directed many of my favorite films. Like everyone else, I was saddened by his passing. He made many films that will be remembered forever and will influence future filmmakers, as it did in my case.”

American critic Ed Whitefield reported that William Friedkin told him before his death that he no longer wanted to be there when the sequel to The Exorcist hit theaters.

“William Friedkin once said to me, ‘Ed, the guy who directed the sequel to ‘Halloween’ is going to do the same thing with my movie ‘The Exorcist.’ My signature film is going to be continued by the man who directed “Délire Express”. I don’t want to be there when that happens. But if there is a spirit world and I come back, I’m going to possess David Gordon Green and make his life hell.

However, these comments should be taken with caution as the journalist published them after the director’s death…

William Friedkin’s feature film caused a sensation when it was released in 1973 and started the trend of the “exorcist film” subgenre. The Exorcist grossed $441 million worldwide and quickly became the highest-grossing and highest-charting horror film of all time (until Andy Muschietti’s It dethroned it in 2017).

For Friedkin, however, his film, adapted from William Peter Blatt’s novel, itself inspired by real events, was more a faith-challenging film than a horror film. The film director confided IndieWire In 2018: “People say it’s a horror movie. But Blatt and I have never talked about a horror movie. We made a film about the mystery of faith, which was his concept, his idea, his belief system.”

The filmmaker considered his film to be a perfect and timely work and did not want to participate in a sequel or reboot of this story. That is why the latter never agreed to participate in another project inspired by his work, except for Alexander O. According to Philip’s documentary The Exorcist by William Friedkin, released in 2021.